And then—
“What if I’m supposed to be getting my dick touched tonight?”
Laughter erupts, sharp and nervous. I glance toward the voice, spotting a lanky boy with messy blond hair and a cocky grin. Kael, I think. Son of some minor Argent lord.
“I guess he has a point,” I murmur, half to myself.
Legend’s hips buck upward, grinding his hardening cock against my ass. I bite back a gasp, heat pooling low in my stomach.
“The only dick you’re being fed is mine,” he whispers, voice rough and dark. “And trust me, you won’t be going anywhere else during this curfew.”
My throat tightens. My pulse thrums in my ears. I hate that my body reacts. Hate the way heat coils between my thighs. Hate that he’s the only one who can make me feel like this.
I think it’s time I took a little walk to check out thisgateway of desire.I know it’s here; it was the first thing I searched for whenI saw the little map page in my codex. Maybe Creed lied. Maybe I don’t need him the way he says I do.
Knight’s voice cuts through the noise again, sharp and unyielding, and I tune back in. “The murder you witnessed wasn’t the first.”
The laughter dies. The room goes deathly still.
“We’ve had others,” Knight continues. “And the brutality is growing.”
Chaos erupts. Voices rise, overlapping, frantic and accusing. Students jump to their feet, pointing fingers, shouting over one another. Professors try to restore order, but their voices drown in the tide of panic.
Creed leans forward, jaw tight. “Legend,” he murmurs, voice low enough that only those on the dais can hear. “Calm them down.”
Legend shifts beneath me, his grip on my waist tightening. I feel the tension in his body, the way his muscles coil like he’s bracing for something.
But nothing happens.
Creed’s head snaps toward him. “What’s wrong?”
Legend’s jaw clenches, frustration bleeding through his carefully controlled mask. “It’s not working.”
Silence stretches between them.
“What do you mean, it’s not working?” Creed’s voice is low, dangerous.
Legend’s chest heaves against my back, his breathing ragged. “Chill.” He stops talking, and I’ve never heard him sound so unsure before. “Barely slept last night, must be that.”
Creed’s face twists into something ugly, lips curling back to show teeth.
My heart hammers. Everything inside me is screaming to bolt, to get the hell out, to throw punches. But I’m stuck here by Sinner’s little game, completely fucking helpless, trapped onLegend’s lap by an invisible string, like I’m some trophy he won.
Creed leans back in his chair, gaze never leaving mine. The weight of his stare is suffocating, like he’s dissecting me, peeling back layers to find something rotten underneath.
That’s one thing he’s right about. I am rotten.
But if they think they can pin this on me, they’re in for a fucking surprise.
The mob keeps screaming, a mess of scared and pissed-off yelling. Knight opens his mouth again, but nobody can hear a damn thing he’s saying over all the noise.
And all I can do is sit here, trapped in Legend’s arms, feeling his heartbeat thunder against my spine.
This is going to end badly.
…
The next morning, I wake to the weight of eyes on me.
